Method, system and computer readable recording medium for providing ranking of game group

ABSTRACT

A ranking method and system for providing a ranking of a game group is disclosed. The method includes creating a game group including a user and at least one member among the user&#39;s registered friends who have joined a game service, based on a game group creation request received from a user terminal. The method further comprises calculating a ranking of the user with respect to other members of the created game group based on a ranking inquiry request received from the user terminal, and providing the user terminal with the calculated ranking of the user. The user terminal drives a game service platform associated with a plurality of games and provides the game group creation request information and the ranking inquiry request information through the game service platform.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2011-0058975, filed on Jun. 17, 2011, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method, asystem, and a computer-readable recording medium for providing a rankingof a game group, in which the group is created among users who havejoined a game service as a member on a client terminal device, and theranking is provided for the created group.

2. Discussion of the Background

As the performance of recently released smart phones is enhanced, usersmay move from general cellular phones to smart phones. A smart phone isan intelligent cellular phone having computer support functions such as,personal digital assistant (PDA) functions, Internet functions, andmoving image playback functions, while still providing originalfunctions of the cellular phone. The smart phone may have a variety ofinput methods and a touch screen to provide a convenient interface foruse. In addition, the smart phone may be connected to the Internet andother computers with the support of wireless Internet functions so as toperform functions, such as e-mail, web browsing, facsimile, banking,and/or playing a game. The smart phone is equipped with a standardizedoperating system (OS) or a dedicated operating system to perform avariety of functions.

Since a variety of functions can be implemented through various clientterminal devices such as the smart phone, a variety of dedicatedapplication programs and contents operating within the client terminaldevice have been developed. In addition, as the functions for clientterminal devices are improved, a large number of mobile games that userscan enjoy in an environment similar to the web have been developed.Numerous network games have been developed to allow users who haveconnected to a network through client terminal devices to play the samegame while being connected with the network. When a user is playing agame, a game client is generally mounted on the client terminal deviceand connected to a game server through a wired or wireless communicationnetwork, so as to execute the game on the client terminal device.

Most games record game points of each user and show a ranking of thegame points. However, since a conventional ranking service provided fora game shows a general ranking of the game users, the general rankingsgenerally do not provide information that motivates the game users, andthe rankings are not shown in a variety of ways. Accordingly, there is alimitation in providing meaningful information.

The above information disclosed in this background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form any part of theprior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinaryskill in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a method and asystem for providing a ranking of a game group, in which the group iscreated in a game service provided through a client terminal device, anda variety of meaningful game ranking information is provided bycomparing rankings within the group created by a client and comparingrankings among the groups.

Additional features of the invention will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a methodperformed by a game service platform server including a group rankingmanagement module to provide a ranking of a game group. The methodincludes creating, in response to a game group creation request receivedfrom a client terminal of a client, the game group including the clientand at least one member among registered friends of the client. Theregistered friends have joined a game service. The method furtherincludes calculating a ranking of the client with respect to othermembers of the created game group in response to a ranking inquiryrequest received from the client terminal, and providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking of the client. The client terminaldrives the game service platform associated with a plurality of gamesand provides the game group creation request and the ranking inquiryrequest through the game service platform.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also disclose a methodperformed by a game service platform server including a group rankingmanagement module to provide a ranking of a game group. The methodincludes creating, in response to a game group creation request receivedfrom a client terminal of a client, a game group including a client andat least one member among members having joined a game service,calculating a ranking of the client with respect to other members of thecreated game group in response to a ranking inquiry request receivedfrom the client terminal. The method further includes providing theclient terminal with the calculated ranking of the client. The clientterminal drives a game service platform associated with a plurality ofgames and provides the game group creation request and the rankinginquiry request through the game service platform, and the game groupcreation request information further includes at least one piece of taginformation mapped to the created game group.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention, also disclose a systemto provide a ranking of a game group. The system includes a clientterminal of a client and a game service platform server. The clientterminal drives a game service platform associated with a plurality ofgames and provides a game group creation request and a ranking inquiryrequest through the game service platform. The game service platformserver includes a group ranking management module to create, in responseto the game group creation request received from the client terminal,the game group including the client and at least one member amongregistered friends of the client having joined a game service. The groupranking management module is configured to calculate a ranking of theclient with respect to other members of the created game group inresponse to the ranking inquiry request received from the clientterminal, and to provide the client terminal with the calculated rankingof the client.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention disclose a system toprovide a ranking of a game group. The system includes a client terminalof a client and a game service platform server. The client terminaldrives a game service platform associated with a plurality of games andprovides a game group creation request and a ranking inquiry requestthrough the game service platform. The game service platform serverincludes a group ranking management module to create, in response to thegame group creation request received from the client terminal, the gamegroup including a client and at least one member among members havingjoined a game service. The group ranking management module is configuredto calculate a ranking of the client with respect to other members ofthe created game group in response to the ranking inquiry requestreceived from the client terminal, and to provide the client terminalwith the calculated ranking of the client. The game group creationrequest includes at least one piece of tag information mapped to thecreated game group.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide anon-transitory computer-readable medium including an executable programwhich, when executed, performs a method of providing a ranking of a gamegroup. The method includes creating, in response to a game groupcreation request received from a client terminal of a client, a gamegroup comprising the client and at least one member among registeredfriends of the client having joined a game service. The method furtherincludes calculating a ranking of the client with respect to othermembers of the created game group in response to a ranking inquiryrequest received from the client terminal, and providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking of the client. The client terminaldrives a game service platform associated with a plurality of games andprovides the game group creation request and the ranking inquiry requestthrough the game service platform.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention, also disclose a methodperformed by a game service platform server including a group rankingmanagement module to provide a ranking of a game group. The methodincludes creating, in response to a game group creation request receivedfrom a client terminal of a client, a game group including the clientand a member of at least one game service among a plurality of gameservices associated with the game service platform, and receiving arequest for executing a game service associated with the game serviceplatform from the client terminal. The method further comprisescalculating, in response to receiving the request for execution from theclient terminal, user ranking information for the member havinginstalled the game service, and providing the client terminal with thecalculated ranking information of the client. The game service platformis accessible through the game service associated with the game serviceplatform server.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention, disclose a methodperformed by a game service platform server including a group rankingmanagement module to provide a ranking of a game group. The methodincludes creating, in response to a game group creation request receivedfrom a client terminal of a client, a game group including the clientand a member of at least one game service among a plurality of gameservices associated with the game service platform. The method furthercomprises calculating a ranking of the client with respect to othermembers of the created game group in response to a ranking inquiryrequest received from the client terminal, and providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking information of the client. Thecalculating the ranking of the client comprises calculating the rankingof the client based on a game score integrated from a plurality of gamesassociated with the game service platform.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention, also disclose a methodperformed by a game service platform server including a group rankingmanagement module to provide a ranking of a game group. The methodincludes creating, in response to a game group creation request receivedfrom a client terminal of a client, a game group including the clientand members of at least one game service among a plurality of gameservices associated with the game service platform, and determiningwhether the plurality of game services associated with the game serviceplatform is installed in terminals of the members of the created gamegroup in response to a game group inquiry request received from theclient terminal. The method further includes transmitting a result ofthe determination to the client terminal, calculating rankinginformation of the client with respect to members having installed agame service selected by the client among the members of the createdgame group, if the client selects one of the game services displayed onthe client terminal, and providing the client terminal with thecalculated ranking information of the client. The game service platformis accessible through the game service associated with the game serviceplatform server.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the concept of creating a group according toexemplary embodiments the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the concept of a game service platformaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a system for providing ranking informationthrough a game service platform according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a structure of a game service platform serverand a database server according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a gameaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of creating a groupaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of joining a group accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of inquiring a group rankingaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an information storage table for providing agroup ranking for each user according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a screen of a smart phone, displaying a groupranking inquiry according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a screen of a smart phone, displaying a resultof a group ranking inquiry according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a screen of a smart phone, displaying a resultof an SNS friend ranking inquiry according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the inventionare shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure is thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the inventionto those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relativesizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Likereference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms, “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. It should be understood that for thepurposes of this disclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” can beconstrued as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or moreitems X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XYY, YZ, ZZ).

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

A user may create a group by setting a specific tag (or keyword), andeach user may search for a group among created groups and join thesearched group.

When a group is created, qualifications for joining the correspondinggroup can be set, and when a user joins the group, approval of joiningthe group can be determined by automatically examining the joiningqualifications, or can be determined with the approval of a groupcreator or a service server.

The group can be created as a small group within the user's game friendsregistered by the user or can be created using a specific tag, targetingall the users joining a game service as members.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention can be applied to a ‘smartphone’. In general, exemplary embodiments of the invention can beapplied to any client terminal device capable of executing anapplication, including, but not limited to, a mobile or cellularterminals, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), anavigation device, as well as fixed terminals such as a computer and aTV.

‘Game service platform’ may refer to a software framework (including anapplication program framework) which provides integrated management ofinformation and services related to each game in association with atleast a game program (preferably, a plurality of game programs). Forexample, the game service platform may be a basis for executingindividual game software, and the execution of a program may not berestricted to a specific operating system through the game serviceplatform.

‘Acquaintance’ may refer to a person with whom a client terminal deviceuser executing the game service platform establishes a relation througha certain channel (for example, stores the person in the address book ofthe client terminal device, or registers the person in a social networkservice (SNS) as a friend), and the connection relation is stored incomputer-readable memory. ‘Non-acquaintance’ may refer to the oppositeof ‘acquaintance’. For example, a “non-acquaintance” may be a personwith whom a relation with the client terminal device user (e.g., user)executing the game service platform has not been established through anychannel, and/or the connection relation has not been stored in thecomputer-readable memory. The acquaintance and the non-acquaintance maybe distinguished and separately registered as game friends throughdifferent methods.

In addition, the game service platform may be integrated in a smartphone, may manage a plurality of game software in an integrated manner,and may provide a variety of services in association with each gamesoftware. For example, the game service platform may provide aninterface allowing each user to access each game, as well as a varietyof records and statistical data related to the game. The game serviceplatform may also provide a function for creating a group and provideinformation on rankings in each group and rankings among groups,calculated for the created groups through the smart phone.

‘Ranking’ may refer to a ranking for points or scores obtained in agame, and, in some cases, may be a ranking for points assigned to eachround of a specific game or a ranking for total points integrated by thegame service platform.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilledin the art may easily understand the invention.

A game service platform manages information on each game in associationwith a plurality of games, provides a function for creating a group, andcalculates and provides a ranking of each group. A method for providinga ranking may be implemented within each game program without separatelyinstalling the game service platform in a smart phone, and the methodmay be implemented on the game service platform to create a group,provide a ranking of the created group, and provide an integratedranking of the plurality of games.

Creating a Group

FIG. 1 is a view showing how a user may create a group according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, agame service user may register game friends by a variety of methods inrelation to a game service. The registration methods include, but arenot limited to, automatically adding a friend from the user's addressbook, automatically adding a social network service (SNS) friend,searching for and adding a person who registered the game service useras a friend, searching for and adding a friend using an identity(ID)/nickname, or adding a person from a list provided through a userinformation window or recommendation of non-acquaintances. The user maycreate a group within the registered game friends (e.g., acquaintances)or among all game service users (e.g., all the users withoutdistinguishing acquaintances and non-acquaintances).

When a group is created with respect to all the game service users, tags(e.g., Orange County working mom, Stunning Beauty K, Drama Buff, or NHN)are designated to the group, and the group may be created according toeach of the tags. If the group is created in this way, some of all theservice users may join the group, thereby creating the group.

If a specific group is created within game friends or among all the gameservice users, a ranking of a user within the group or a ranking amongthe groups is calculated, and information on the calculated ranking maybe provided to each service user within each game program, or preferablythrough the game service platform which will be described later.

Game Service Platform

FIG. 2 is a view showing a game service platform according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the gameservice platform supporting the ranking providing system may allow auser to easily create a group by registering a game friend or tag, andmay provide a basis for easily joining a group and providing a rankingof each group.

For example, a user may register his or her acquaintances as gamefriends and may create a small group within the corresponding gamefriends, or may create a group by setting a tag and form a group withrespect to all game service members (non-acquaintances). In addition, aranking within a social network service (SNS) group which the user hasjoined or a ranking among the groups may be provided.

In addition, effective ranking information may be provided through theinterconnection between an individual game and the game serviceplatform. For example, structural flexibility may be secured byproviding ranking information of an individual game within the gameand/or switching the ranking information to a screen of the game serviceplatform using a ranking interface customized within the game.

Accordingly, meaningful rankings within a created game group may beprovided by providing the ranking information through the game serviceplatform. A sense of belonging and solidarity of a community may beobtained by comparing the rankings among the groups.

Hereinafter, a system and detailed components thereof according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4, and procedures of recommending a friend andexecuting a game according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7,and 8.

Overall System Configuration

FIG. 3 is a view showing a system for providing ranking informationthrough a game service platform according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a service server 300 of a service provider may beconnected to a plurality of client terminals (e.g., smart phones) 320 inwhich a game service platform is executed through a communicationnetwork 310. The service server 300 may include a game service platformserver 301, a game server 302, an authentication server 303, a paymentserver 304, a SNS server 305, and a database server 306. The game server302 may separately perform a function for individual games so that aplurality of games may be driven through each of the client terminals320.

The communication network 310 can be configured through a wired orwireless communication and/or through short range communications (e.g.,Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Bluetooth), and can be configuredthrough a variety of communication networks such as a personal areanetwork (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), and a wide area network (WAN). In some cases, the communicationnetwork may be the world wide web (WWW).

The game service platform server 301 may be associated with the gameserver 302 and may provide each of the client terminals 320 with thegame service platform. The game service platform server 301 may create agroup and provide important functions for providing a ranking within thecreated group or a ranking among the groups. Detailed functions of thegame service platform server 301 will be described below with referenceto FIG. 4.

The game server 302 may provide the client terminals 320 with programsor information related to each game in order to provide a user with avariety of games. The user may download a game application from the gameserver 302, and install and execute the game application in the clientterminal 320. For example, the game server 302 may install the gameapplication if the game application is not installed in the clientterminal 320 and may update the game application to a newer version ifthe game application on the client terminal 320 is an old version. Insome cases, a game application may be downloaded from a dedicateddownload server (not shown) or the game service platform server 301, andnot from the game server 302.

The game server 302 may share ranking information with the game serviceplatform server 301, provide ranking information of each game, and beassociated with the game service platform server 301 through a rankinginterface customized for each game.

The authentication server 303 may perform authentication for each clientterminal 320 on connection to the game service platform server 301and/or on execution of a game on each client terminal 320. The gameservice platform server 301 or the game server 302 may provide theclient terminal 320 with a variety of corresponding services dependingon a result of the authentication.

The game server 302 may calculate a user's elapsed time and a time limitof a game and provide the client terminal 320 with a result thereofthrough communications with the client terminal 320. The game server 302may implement a free trial allowing the user to enjoy a game for freefor a certain period of time set by the game producers or by default bythe game server 302 or may implement a function allowing the user toplay the game only at a predetermined time on a time basis rate also setby the game producers or by default by the game server 302. If aspecific game is a pay game for which a user is charged, the game may beprovided after a payment is made through the payment server 304. Inaddition, the authentication server 303 may continuously communicatewith servers 301 and/or 302 while the game is in progress to maintainthe game, and thus the game server 302 may determine whether or not thenetwork connection is maintained through communications with the clientterminal 320.

The SNS server 305 may provide social network services (SNS) (e.g.,Facebook® service) of a service provider, and may provide rankinginformation within a SNS group through the game service platform server301 by providing the game service platform server 301 with informationon members.

In some cases, the SNS server 305 may be operated by the same company ofthe game service platform server 301, and, in some cases, SNS serversmay be operated by other companies outside the service server 300.

The database server 306 may store a variety of information needed forproviding the client terminal 320 with a game service platform and aplurality of games, and may provide information requested from the gameservice platform server 301, the game server 302, the authenticationserver 303, the payment server 304, and/or the SNS server 305. Therequested information may include information related to execution ofthe game service platform, information related to execution of a gameapplication, authentication information including user information,information on records related to a game, and/or ranking information.

The information related to the execution of a game application mayinclude information needed for executing the game application, such aswhether or not the game application is downloaded to the client terminal320, a version of the game, and an Internet protocol address of the gameserver 302. The authentication information containing user informationmay include user unique information for determining whether or not avalid user is executing the game, terminal unique information fordetermining whether or not the game is executed at an authenticatedclient terminal 320. The information on the game may include informationsuch as identification, a nickname, an avatar, an age, a sex, a grade, agame result, a ranking, and/or a score of the user; information onwhether or not the user has passed a specific stage; information onwhether or not the user has accomplished a specific mission; informationon whether or not the game is a free trail game; and/or information on atime limit of the game.

The database server 306 may include a plurality of databases as shown inFIG. 4, and a database containing a portion or all of the databases'information may be stored in the client terminal 320.

In addition, a group ranking management module for managing a mission ora score accomplished by the user in a game may be included in the gameservice platform server 301 or the game server 302. The database server306 may further include information related to the group rankingmanagement module. Although FIG. 3 illustrates the service server 300including six servers 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, and 306, the six serversmay be functionally integrated or separated. In addition, some servershaving additional functions may be further included as described above,and thus the service server 300 may include one or more servers, ratherthan six servers.

The client terminal 320 may include an input-output function forcommunicating with the service server 300 through the communicationnetwork 310 so that a user may execute a game service platform or avariety of games. The client terminal 320 may be any kind of digitaldevice provided with a memory means and connected to a processor to havea processing capability. The client terminal 320 may be a desktopcomputer, a notebook computer, a workstation, a palmtop computer, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a web pad, or a mobile communicationterminal such as a smart phone.

Game Service Platform Server Including a Group Ranking Management Module

FIG. 4 is a view showing a structure of the game service platform server301 and the database server 306 according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention.

The game service platform server 301 may include a member managementmodule 410, a game association module 420, a group ranking managementmodule 430, and an additional function processing module 440 as shown inFIG. 4. The database server 306 for storing and transmitting a varietyof data in association with the game service platform server 301 mayinclude a member information database 451, a game information database452, a friend information database 453, a record information database454, and a group information database 455.

The member management module 410 manages a variety of personalinformation registered when a user joins a game service platform or anindividual game as a member, and manages game records and information onfriends registered by each member. The game association module 420allows the game service platform server 301 to operate in associationwith individual games of the game server 302, and may allow the gameservice platform to process login and billing of the individual games.The group ranking management module 430 performs a function of creatinga group or processing a request to join the created group and mayprovide a function of calculating a ranking within each created groupand a ranking among the groups. The additional function processingmodule 440 can provide a variety of functions that can be additionallyprovided in relation to a game service.

All or some of detailed function units included in each module 410, 420,430, and 440 of the game service platform server 301 may also beincluded in a service platform client application installed in theclient terminal 320, and some of the detailed function units may beprocessed in an associated or distributed manner according to a serverand client system.

Hereinafter, detailed functions of each of the modules will be describedin detail.

The member management module 410 may include a member informationmanagement unit 411, a member authentication processing unit 412, afriend registration management unit 413, and a game record managementunit 414. The member information management unit 411 may store a varietyof information related to a member when a user accesses the game serviceplatform server 301 and joins a service through the game serviceplatform server 301 or updates a variety of information related to themember modified through an information home of the game service platformwithin the member information database 451.

The member authentication processing unit 412 performs authentication inassociation with the authentication server 303 when a user who hasjoined as a member logs in the game service platform or a game. Thefriend registration management unit 413 performs a function of managinggame friends of a registered member. The game record management unit 414performs a function of managing records of each game, records of allgames, and ranking information of a member.

The game association module 420 may include an individual gameconnection unit 421, a login management unit 422, a billing process unit423, and a game software (S/W) installation unit 424. The individualgame connection unit 421 performs an interface function for connecting auser to a specific game when the game is selected among a plurality ofgames provided in the game server 302. The login management unit 422performs a function of processing log in into a game in an integratedmanner or individually processing log in into each game when a useraccesses the game through the game service platform. The billing processunit 423 performs a function of processing billing in association withthe payment server 304 when a connected game is a pay game. The game S/Winstallation unit 424 performs a function of automatically proceeding toa game S/W installation step and installing a game S/W when a userdesires to access a specific game through the game service platform andS/W corresponding to the game is not installed in the client terminal320.

The group ranking management module 430 may include a group creationunit 431, a group join processing unit 432, a group ranking calculationunit 433, a within-group ranking calculation unit 434, and a groupsearch unit 435. As shown in FIG. 6, which will be described below, thegroup creation unit 431 may create a new group by adding some or all ofthe game friends registered by a user through the game service platform,may create a new group by adding some or all of the game service membersregistered as a friend in an SNS service the user has joined, or maycreate a new group using a tag (or a keyword). The group can be createdwith respect to all the game service members, or specific qualificationsfor joining the group may be separately added when the group is created.The group join processing unit 432 performs a joining process for eachgroup created by the group creation unit 431 as shown in FIG. 7, whichwill be described below. The group ranking calculation unit 433 and thewithin-group ranking calculation unit 434 perform a function ofcalculating a ranking of a corresponding group among all groups (asshown in FIG. 8 which will be described below) and a ranking of eachmember within a created group, respectively. The group search unit 435performs a function of inputting a tag (or a keyword) through the gameservice platform and searching for a group stored in the groupinformation database 455.

Each function unit of the group ranking management module 430 mayfacilitate creation of a group and addition of members to a group, andmay calculate and provide a variety of ranking information related toeach created group.

The additional function processing module 440 may include a shortmessage service (SMS) transmission processing unit 441, a notetransmission processing unit 442, and an advertisement providing unit443. The SMS transmission processing unit 441 and the note transmissionprocessing unit 442 provide a function of transmitting a SMS message ora note to a registered friend or a user in a joined group. Theadvertisement providing unit 443 performs a function of providinginformation or advertisements related to a variety of games associatedwith the game service platform.

In some cases, a variety of functions included in the game serviceplatform server 301 may operate in association with a game serviceplatform client application installed in the client terminal 320 todrive the game service platform. For example, some of the functions canbe included in the game service platform client application of theclient terminal 320, and the client terminal 320 may autonomously driveand provide corresponding functions without requiring a server. In somecases, the client terminal 320 may be provided with information on thefunctions of the game service platform server 301 from the game serviceplatform server 301 and may dominantly perform corresponding functions.

For example, if the user selects a ranking inquiry function for aspecific group that the user has joined from a game service platformscreen after a game service platform application is installed andexecuted in the client terminal 320, the client application may requesta corresponding inquiry of ranking from the game service platform server301. Then, the game service platform server 301 may inquire groupinformation stored in the group information database 455 through thegroup ranking calculation unit 433 or the within-group rankingcalculation unit 434, calculate a ranking within the corresponding groupand a ranking of each group, and transmit the calculated result to theclient terminal 320. The client terminal 320 may subsequently confirmthe result of the inquiry. Accordingly, a variety of functions may beperformed at a server 410, at a client terminal 320, at both the server410 and the client terminal 320.

Database Server

The database server 306 may include a member information database 451, agame information database 452, a friend information database 453, arecord information database 454, and a group information database 455,and may further include other databases needed for providing the gameservice platform.

The member information database 451 stores a variety of information onmembers who have joined as a service member or a game member through thegame service platform. For example, the member information may includepersonal identification information of a corresponding member, a pictureneeded for profile information, a nickname, an avatar, recently playedgames, installed games, information on a result or a record of eachgame, ranking information, information on challenging tasks, informationon joined SNSs, information on settings of personal informationexposure, and information on settings of automatic login.

The game information database 452 stores information on a plurality ofgames associated with the game service platform server 301. For example,the game information may include information on software installed foreach game, information on firm-up software, information on a version ofeach game, information on a record of each game, information on achallenging task of each game, information on a channel connecting tothe game service platform server 301, and information on a member whohas joined a corresponding game.

The friend information database 453 stores a variety of informationrelated to SNS game friends registered by a user as a friend orautomatically registered in association with a SNS server. For example,the friend information may include information on an ID and a nicknameof a registered friend, information on a registration channel, andinformation on blocked friends.

The record information database 454 may store a variety of recordsaccording to a result of a game played by each member. For example, therecords information may include a number of rounds played in each game,a score of a member in each game, and a score of a challenging task.

The group information database 455 may include information on a groupcreated through the group creation unit 431 (e.g., tag information of agroup, information on a group creator, and information on qualificationsfor joining a group) and information on a group member who joinedthrough the group join processing unit 432.

Overall Service Procedure

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a gameaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. First, aclient terminal 320 (e.g., a smart phone) may download and install agame service platform software S/W (S501), and drive the installed gameservice platform (S502). Then, the user may join the game serviceplatform as a member and log into the game service platform (S503).

The user may then create a group using several methods (S504). Forexample, the user may create a group of friends by adding friends, maycreate a group of SNS friends registered via user account authenticationof an SNS service that the user has joined, and/or may create a newgroup by registering a tag. In some cases, if the user would not like tocreate a new group, the user may inquire about a previously-registeredgroup using a tag and join the group (S505). In some cases, in additionto creating a new group, the user may inquire about apreviously-registered group using a tag and join the group (S505)

It should be understood that the user may create or join one or moregroups in S504 and S505. The user may create a group by adding friends,create a SNS friend group, and/or create a new group by registering atag in any order or in parallel. To create a friend group by addingfriends, a new group can be created using a method of selecting oradding some or all of the friends registered by the user. To create aSNS friend group, a new group can be created using a method of selectingor adding some or all of the game service members registered as a friendin a SNS service that the user has joined. To create a new group byregistering a tag, a new group can be created using a method ofinputting a tag mapped to a new group created by the user. If one ormore groups are created, rankings of a corresponding group can beinquired through the game service platform, and a ranking within thegroup and ranking information of each group may be outputted through thegame service platform as a result of the inquiry (S506).

Hereinafter, methods of creating and joining a group and inquiring aboutrankings of the group according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8.

Procedure of Creating a Group

A group which provides ranking information may be created using avariety of methods. A group of friends may be registered according to avariety of methods (e.g., friends registered in an address book, friendsregistered in a SNS). A group may be created including the registeredfriends, or a small group can be separately created by selecting some ofthe friends from the registered group of friends.

As shown in FIG. 6, a user may create a new group by registering a tag,and all the game service members can be registered as a member of thegroup. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of creating a groupaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. If a groupcreation menu is selected through the game service platform (S601), anew group is created by inputting a group name or a tag (S602). If thegroup name or the tag is a word already registered (S603), another groupname or tag is inputted. This step may be repeated until a name that isnot registered is input.

When an inputted group name is not registered, qualifications (e.g., anage, a region, a game ranking) for joining the group may be input(S604). Accordingly, creation of the group is completed (S605).

Although exemplary embodiments described above describe that a group maybe created by inputting a group name or a tag, in some cases, one ormore tags may additionally be set after the group name is set. Forexample, after three tags are set to one group name, a user may searchfor a corresponding group by inputting the registered group name or tag.When a group is searched using a tag, a plurality of groups includingthe same tag can be obtained as a result of the search. For example, ifa person living in Orange County searches for a group by searching for‘Orange County’ as a tag, a plurality of groups (e.g., ‘Orange Countyworking mom’, ‘Orange County NHN’) including ‘Orange County’ as a tagcan be searched.

Procedure of Joining a Group

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of joining a group accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7,registered groups may be searched for by entering a group name throughthe game service platform (S701). According to a search result of theentered group name, a list of searched groups may be displayed (S702).The game service platform may determine if the user has selected aspecific group to join from the list (S703). If a group is not selected,the method for joining a searched group may end.

If a group is selected, a group join request signal may be transmittedto the group join processing unit 432 of the group ranking managementunit 430 included in the game service platform server 301 of the serviceserver 300, and the group join processing unit 432 may determine whetheror not the user requesting to join the group meets the qualificationsfor joining the group based on the group information database 455(S704). If the user meets the qualifications as a result of thedetermination (S705), the process of joining the group for the user may,in some cases, be complete (S707).

In some cases, the user may be approved immediately to join the group ifthe user meets the qualifications as described above, but, in somecases, the service server 300 or the creator of the group may need toapprove the user's request to join the group (S706).

Procedure of Inquiring about a Group Ranking

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of inquiring about agroup ranking according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 8, if the user selects a group rankinginquiry through the game service platform (S801), a tag input window forthe group ranking inquiry is provided, as shown in FIG. 10. A joinedgroup may be searched for is or inquired about, or a new group may becreated with other members as described in FIG. 5. For example, a groupmay be inquired about by inputting a tag name into the tag input window(S802). If ranking inquiry for a group corresponding to the input tagname is requested from the service server 300 (S803), the group rankingmanagement module 430 of the service server 300 may confirm a list ofmembers of the group through the group information database 455,determine whether a plurality of game services associated with the gameservice platform is installed in terminals of the members of the joinedor created game group, and read scores of each member from the recordinformation database 454. The client terminal 320 may receive, from theservice server 300, information regarding the results of thedetermination of whether the plurality of game services associated withthe game service platform is installed in terminals of the members ofthe group. A list of the plurality of game services installed interminals of other members of the group may be displayed in the clientterminal 320, and the user may select at least one of the game servicesthat may be of interest to the user.

Then, a group score may be calculated based on a predetermined method(e.g., addition of individual game scores or activity scores of eachmember, or an average score of each member) (S805). Accordingly, aranking of the user within the group may be calculated (S806), and aranking among the groups may be calculated by comparing the calculatedgroup score with scores of other groups (S807). For example, in somecases, if the user selects one of the game services displayed on theclient terminal 320, ranking information of the user with respect toother members having installed the game service selected by the user maybe calculated.

The calculated ranking result may be displayed through the game serviceplatform of the client terminal 320 (e.g., smart phone) of the user whohas requested the group ranking inquiry (S808).

FIG. 9 is a view showing an information storage table 900 for providinga group ranking for each user according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 9, in order to provide a ranking ofeach group and a ranking among the groups according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, it is preferable to collect andstore a variety of information related to the group for each user.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, information such as a user ID 910, anickname 920, groups (tags) created by the user 930, joined groups(tags) 940, registered friends 950, joined SNSs 960, and user's scores970 can be stored and managed in each database.

Example of Implementing a Service

FIG. 10 is a view showing a screen of a smart phone 320. The screendisplays a group ranking inquiry according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention. Referring to FIG. 10, if the group ranking of thegame ranking menu is selected on the game service platform driven at theuser's smart phone, a tag input window is provided for inputting a groupname or a tag. If a group name or a tag is inputted as a keyword throughthe tag input window, a ranking of a group which sets the inputtedkeyword as a group name or a tag can be inquired about.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a screen of a smart phone 320 displaying aresult of a group ranking inquiry according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention. Referring to FIG. 11, a daily or overall rankingof a group are provided as a result of the group ranking inquiry of FIG.10, and ranking information of the user in the group can be confirmed.For example, as shown in the FIG. 11, if the joined group is ‘NHN’, theuser's ranking information 1100 in the ‘NHN’ group and a ranking of the‘NHN’ group 1110 compared with those of the other groups can beprovided.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a screen of a smart phone 320 displaying aresult of a SNS friend ranking inquiry according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 12, rankinginformation within a group created by some or all of the users who havejoined a SNS (of which the user is already a member) as a friend may bedetermined. Ranking information within a group created by the user mayalso be obtained. As shown in FIG. 12, if a corresponding user hasjoined a SNS service such as Facebook®, the user may confirm his or herranking among the user's friends registered in the Facebook® service.

Accordingly, a sense of belonging and solidarity of a community can bestrengthened by confirming rankings within a group related to the userand rankings among the groups, and not by providing conventionalmeaningless overall ranking information.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in aprogram command form that can be executed through a variety of computermeans (e.g., processor) and recorded in a computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium may include program commands, data files, anddata structures in a single or combined form. The program commandsrecorded in the medium may be program commands specially designed andconfigured to execute exemplary embodiments of the present invention orprogram commands that are publicized and available for those skilled inthe art of computer software. Examples of the computer-readable mediuminclude magnetic media such as a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetictape, optical media such as a CD-ROM and a DVD, magneto-optical mediasuch as a floptical disk, and hardware devices specially configured tostore and execute the program commands, such as ROM, RAM, and flashmemory. Examples of the program commands include high-level languagecodes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, as wellas machine codes such as those generated by a compiler. The hardwaredevices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules inorder to perform operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

While the present invention has been described in connection with theexemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, they are merelyillustrative embodiments, and the invention is not limited to theseembodiments. It is to be understood that various equivalentmodifications and variations of the embodiments can be made by a personhaving an ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true technical scopeof the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a game service platformserver comprising a group ranking management module to provide a rankingof a game group, the method comprising: creating, in response to a gamegroup creation request received from a client terminal of a client, thegame group comprising the client and at least one member amongregistered friends of the client, the registered friends having joined agame service; calculating a ranking of the client with respect to othermembers of the created game group in response to a ranking inquiryrequest received from the client terminal; and providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking of the client, wherein the clientterminal is configured to drive the game service platform associatedwith a plurality of games, and to provide the game group creationrequest and the ranking inquiry request through the game serviceplatform.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one memberamong the registered friend corresponds to a member registered as afriend in a social network service the client has joined, and the gamegroup creation request further comprises social network service accountinformation of the client.
 3. A method performed by a game serviceplatform server comprising a group ranking management module to providea ranking of a game group, the method comprising: creating, in responseto a game group creation request received from a client terminal of aclient, a game group comprising the client and at least one member amongmembers having joined a game service; calculating a ranking of theclient with respect to other members of the created game group inresponse to a ranking inquiry request received from the client terminal;and providing the client terminal with the calculated ranking of theclient, wherein the client terminal is configured to drive a gameservice platform associated with a plurality of games, and to providethe game group creation request and the ranking inquiry request throughthe game service platform, and the game group creation request furthercomprises at least one piece of tag information mapped to the createdgame group.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein creating the game groupcomprises: receiving the game group creation request; creating the gamegroup mapped to the tag information included in the game group creationrequest; and storing information on the created game group in adatabase.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein creating the game groupfurther comprises: setting at least one qualification for joining thegame group; and determining whether a request for joining the group isapproved.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking of the client comprises:calculating a score of the game group; calculating a ranking among aplurality of groups by comparing the score of the game group with scoresof the plurality of groups; and providing the calculated ranking.
 7. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the ranking of the client is calculated basedon a game score, the game score being a game score of an individual gameor a game score integrated from the plurality of games associated withthe game service platform.
 8. A system to provide a ranking of a gamegroup, the system comprising: a client terminal of a client, the clientterminal configured to drive a game service platform associated with aplurality of games and to provide a game group creation request and aranking inquiry request through the game service platform; and a gameservice platform server comprising a group ranking management module,the game service platform server configured to create, in response tothe game group creation request received from the client terminal, thegame group comprising the client and at least one member amongregistered friends of the client having joined a game service, the groupranking management module configured to calculate a ranking of theclient with respect to other members of the created game group inresponse to the ranking inquiry request received from the clientterminal, and to provide the client terminal with the calculated rankingof the client.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one membercorresponds to a member registered as a friend in a social networkservice the client has joined, and the game group creation requestfurther comprises social network service account information of theclient.
 10. A system to provide a ranking of a game group, the systemcomprising: a client terminal of a client, the client terminalconfigured to drive a game service platform associated with a pluralityof games and to provide a game group creation request and a rankinginquiry request through the game service platform; and a game serviceplatform server comprising a group ranking management module, the gameservice platform server configured to create, in response to the gamegroup creation request received from the client terminal, the game groupcomprising the client and at least one member among members havingjoined a game service, the group ranking management module configured tocalculate a ranking of the client with respect to other members of thecreated game group in response to the ranking inquiry request receivedfrom the client terminal, and to provide the client terminal with thecalculated ranking of the client, wherein the game group creationrequest comprises at least one piece of tag information mapped to thecreated game group.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the group rankingmanagement module is configured to create the game group mapped to thetag information included in the game group creation request.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the group ranking management module isconfigured to create the game group by setting at least onequalification for joining the game group and determining whether arequest to join the group is approved.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the group ranking management module is configured to calculate ascore of the game group, to calculate a ranking among a plurality ofgroups by comparing the score of the game group with scores of theplurality of groups, and to provide the calculated ranking.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the ranking of the client is calculatedbased on a game score, and the game score is either a game score of anindividual game or a game score integrated from a plurality of gamesassociated with the game service platform.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising an executable program which, whenexecuted, performs a method of providing a ranking of a game group, themethod comprising: creating, in response to a game group creationrequest received from a client terminal of a client, a game groupcomprising the client and at least one member among registered friendsof the client having joined a game service; calculating a ranking of theclient with respect to other members of the created game group inresponse to a ranking inquiry request received from the client terminal;and providing the client terminal with the calculated ranking of theclient, wherein the client terminal is configured to drive a gameservice platform associated with a plurality of games, and to providethe game group creation request and the ranking inquiry request throughthe game service platform.
 16. A method performed by a game serviceplatform server comprising a group ranking management module to providea ranking of a game group, the method comprises: creating, in responseto a game group creation request received from a client terminal of aclient, a game group comprising the client and a member of at least onegame service among a plurality of game services associated with the gameservice platform; receiving a request for executing a game serviceassociated with the game service platform from the client terminal;calculating, in response to receiving the request for execution from theclient terminal, user ranking information for the member havinginstalled the game service; and providing the client terminal with thecalculated ranking information of the client, wherein the game serviceplatform is accessible through the game service associated with the gameservice platform server.
 17. A method performed by a game serviceplatform server comprising a group ranking management module to providea ranking of a game group, the method comprises: creating, in responseto a game group creation request received from a client terminal of aclient, a game group comprising the client and a member of at least onegame service among a plurality of game services associated with the gameservice platform; calculating a ranking of the client with respect toother members of the created game group in response to a ranking inquiryrequest received from the client terminal; and providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking information of the client, whereincalculating the ranking of the client comprises calculating the rankingof the client based on a game score integrated from a plurality of gamesassociated with the game service platform.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the game service platform is accessible through the game serviceassociated with the game service platform server.
 19. A method performedby a game service platform server comprising a group ranking managementmodule to provide a ranking of a game group, the method comprises:creating, in response to a game group creation request received from aclient terminal of a client, a game group comprising the client andmembers of at least one game service among a plurality of game servicesassociated with the game service platform; determining whether theplurality of game services associated with the game service platform isinstalled in terminals of the members of the created game group inresponse to a game group inquiry request received from the clientterminal; transmitting a result of the determination to the clientterminal; calculating ranking information of the client with respect tomembers having installed a game service selected by the client among themembers of the created game group, if the client selects one of the gameservices displayed on the client terminal; and providing the clientterminal with the calculated ranking information of the client, whereinthe game service platform is accessible through the game serviceassociated with the game service platform server.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, further comprising displaying whether or not the members ofthe created game group have installed the game service on the clientterminal, based on a result of the determination.